Great Britain’s Erin McNeice took gold last week in Madrid spending what seemed like an eternity on the fourth and final boulder for gold. In Prague this week, she seems to be the one to beat climbing superbly and with an almost calm about her.

There is a mental side to sport aswell as the obvious physical side, and McNeice is well aware of this: “When I won my first gold last year I think the pressure got to me and the next competition was probably my worst that year, so to have won gold a few days ago and then feel really good is massive progress for me. It feels really cool.”

With a score of 99.5pts for first place, McNeice described the round: “I think I executed very well. Getting the first problem under pressure was good for me, and the rest felt ok after that.

“There was a certain style and if it suits you it could feel quite easy, but if it doesn’t suit you it definitely wasn’t easy.”

Also topping all four boulders was France’s Zélia Avezou who opened up the women’s Boulder season with a gold. Her 99.3pts moved her up from the middle order in the round to a contender with the final on the same day she is showing form.

The third gold medallist of the season sits in fourth overall with 84.8pts, and that is Australia’s Oce Mackenzie. She has been in consistent form at the start of the season and even skipped the Lead in Prague to focus on the Boulder. Time will tell if that decision pays off.

It’s not just about the three 2026 gold medallists though.

In third with 85.0pts is Japan’s Mao Nakamura who won her first gold last season in Salt Lake City. There’s also USA’s Annie Sanders in seventh on 84.6pts who was on the podium in Bern, and Japan’s Melody Sekikawa in eighth with 84.5pts who won silver last week in Madrid.

Sekikawa’s place in the final came at the expense of teammate Miho Nonaka who although got the same points, missed out after an appeal boosted Sekikawa’s score and put her above her teammate on attempts to zone.

The last two final places go to two climbers with different levels of experience. Japan’s Anon Matsufuji has contested eight finals, has two podium finishes and was fourth last weekin Madrid. China’s Yuetong Zhang will contest her very first Boulder final.

Zhang has been knocking at the door of finals this season with two ninth place finishes, but in prague she has managed to open that door and will look to take advantage of the opportunity to test herself.

Matsufuji was fifth with 84.8pts and Zhang was sixth with 84.7pts.

All eight will now try to rest and recover before what looks to be a fascinating final in the Czech capital.

RESULTS

Women's Boulder: https://wclmb.hopp.to/pra26wbr

THE PROGRAMME

The World Climbing Series Prague 2026 will kick off with two days of qualifications: men’s Boulder on Wednesday, 3 June at 9:00 (UTC+2:00), followed by women’s Boulder at 16:00. Lead qualifications will take place on Thursday, 4 June at 10:00.

Semi-finals and finals will liven up the weekend, with men’s Boulder awarding its medals on Friday, 5 June, women’s Boulder on Saturday, and Lead semi-finals and finals closing the event on Sunday, 7 June.

News and updates about all World Climbing events will be available on the World Climbing website, and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.